Chapter 121

In the old control room, a red-haired woman nervously fumbled around. Her hand gripped a circular wheel and kept pulling it toward the lower left.

Lily recalled Kieran’s words. If he didn’t come back for her in thirty minutes, she had to come to this place.

Then she had to pull the ship’s-wheel-like ring on the wall toward the lower left and wait another fifteen minutes. If he still didn’t come to find her here…

Lily turned her head and looked toward a corner of the control panel. She knew there was a button there. Bishop Kieran hadn’t told her what it was. Her intuition warned her not to press it lightly.

Something extraordinary might happen to Bishop Kieran, to her, or even to the entire base.

What exactly had Bishop Kieran gone to do? Would he be all right? No. He was so strategic and calculating that he’d never let things reach the worst outcome.

A light creak sounded. The young red-haired woman turned back with delight. When she saw who it was, the excitement in her eyes faded into wariness.

“Abbess Annabella… and Annie. How are you here?”

“Child, come to me. I’m here to take you back.”

Annabella slowly stepped forward and opened her arms toward the young woman. Hesitation appeared on Lily’s face. She lowered her head and reluctantly took a step back.

“No. I have something very important to do. It concerns the entire plan. You shouldn’t be here.”

The younger Annie couldn’t hold back her complaint. “What important thing could you possibly have? Just tell us. Can’t we help you?”

Annabella softened her gaze and stepped closer again. “Annie’s right. We’re family. Tell us what’s going on.”

Lily shook her head while moving toward the far left side of the control panel. Her hand unconsciously rested there.

What they said seemed reasonable. If it truly involved something major for the base, why couldn’t they help? Yet Bishop Kieran had specifically warned her not to reveal this to anyone.

They and the others wouldn’t understand him. Only she could. Even though she didn’t fully know what Bishop Kieran was doing, only she could support him unconditionally.

Seeing Lily remain unmoved, Annabella’s gray eyes deepened. She looked at the young red-haired woman for a long moment before glancing at Zhu Weilai beside her.

She was tall, with cheeks like soft white dough. Her expression often lingered in a vacant, dreamy state. When bored, she liked to sway slightly. Such a seemingly simple-minded child could slice any object within three meters simply by focusing her attention. If she stepped a little closer and made a gesture, Lily, who stood not far away, would be cut in half instantly.

Kieran had tricked Lily into coming here with ill intentions, most likely to deal with Ye Zheng or to carry out some larger scheme. The lost lamb couldn’t be allowed to continue down a path of no return.

The young woman standing by the control panel looked wary and panicked. Her gaze kept flicking downward. Annabella noticed that she seemed to be checking the time.

She was waiting for someone. She was waiting for Kieran.

At this thought, Annabella’s heart tightened abruptly. She knew that Ye Zheng had gone to the “Bone Burial Ground” to wait for Kieran’s arrival. Only one of them might come out alive. So who would return?

She closed her somewhat cloudy, weary eyes and silently prayed, “May the God of Hope protect us.” When she opened them again, her gaze had turned sharp and ruthless.

“Lily, either come back with us, or you’ll stay here forever.”

Lily stared blankly at Annabella. She shivered involuntarily. This was the first time she had seen the gentle yet dignified abbess show such a merciless expression. Had she really done something wrong? All of them gathered here only wanted to make the world better.

Annie, standing beside the old nun, grew anxious. Even though her relationship with Lily was only average, she didn’t want to see anything happen to her.

“Lily, do you really know what you’re supposed to do? Do you know what Bishop Kieran’s goal is? He didn’t even tell you these things, so why do you trust him so much?”

“Is it because he once read to you from the first volume of Divine Revelation, ‘I shall dedicate myself to darkness and despair, burning away completely until I bring new life to all’?”

Lily’s face flushed red. “I told you that in confidence, not so you could reveal my private matters in front of everyone!”

“He’s lying to you! Those aren’t the original words of the God of Hope at all. You don’t have to burn yourself for anyone!”

Lily clutched her head, her eyes reddening. The ignorant Annie must be deceiving her. How dare she call Bishop Kieran and the black-and-white words of Divine Revelation lies?

Her hand suddenly pressed down on a spot on the control panel. She flipped open the iron cover, revealing the hidden red button beneath.

Fifteen minutes had already passed. Kieran hadn’t come! He… he might already… No. If that were the case, she had to pull herself together and carry out his final wish. She had to let Bishop Kieran complete his great life without regret!

Seeing the young woman grow increasingly frantic, Annabella wearily lowered her eyelids. Silently, she tugged at Zhu Weilai’s sleeve.

Weilai couldn’t fully control her ability. Once activated, the target had almost no chance of survival. Even though she didn’t want to lose another child, the current situation left no room for hesitation.

Lily still hesitated. Her raised hand hovered in midair. In her heart she clung to a one-percent chance that Bishop Kieran was simply late. He might arrive soon. He would soon push open that door.

Creak. A sudden sound broke the suffocating atmosphere in the room.

Lily’s gaze toward the door lit up with hope. At the same time, the three people inside turned toward it in surprise and wariness.

The door cracked open as if gently pushed by the wind. But this sealed base shouldn’t have any wind.

And it certainly shouldn’t have fog.

Annie covered her mouth in shock. White fog poured endlessly through the crack. Before long it filled the entire control room. Even Lily lowered her hand in bewilderment.

Within the fearful whiteness, the door had somehow swung completely open at some point. Desperate screams and panicked footsteps rushed in from outside, becoming the only sounds in the silent space.

“Come here! Come here!”

The elderly nun pulled the children close to her. In the fog so thick that nothing could be seen, Lily also panicked and ran toward the only source of warmth, pressing herself into Annabella’s arms.

She knew what this was. Zhou Yun, the woman who wanted to destroy the entire base, the Western District, perhaps even the entire empire. Today the base had finally fallen.

Through the fog, the door creaked and swayed repeatedly like an indecisive clock. Suddenly it slammed backward with a loud bang. Annie shrank back in fright before cautiously peeking out.

Within the white fog, a deep black mark loomed at the doorway, like a massive claw print left by some creature.

Only when the mark moved did Annie suddenly realize it wasn’t a claw print. Something had entered.

✧✧✧✧✧

When Lu Qi woke in the damp air, she couldn’t help sneezing. Looking up, she realized she was lying in someone’s arms.

“You’re awake?”

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Lu Qi immediately rolled out of the woman’s embrace. She looked around and discovered she was in a luxurious living room. The woman sitting on the sofa in front of her must have been holding her on her lap just moments ago.

No. How had she ended up in someone else’s home? She had left the base with Ye Zheng’s note and called out to Zhou Yun for help in the white fog.

“You’re Zhou Yun!”

Lu Qi’s eyes widened as she stared at the woman sitting calmly on the sofa. She wore a long black dress. Her black hair, tied with a white ribbon, hung loosely over her left chest. The woman held a cup of tea and sipped it slowly, her eyes resting on Lu Qi with gentle kindness.

“Rest a little longer. You must’ve been hurt quite badly running out of that place. Fortunately, they didn’t implant that despair-inducing thing in you.”

“No, I don’t need to rest. Auntie, please listen. Ye Zheng has something she wants you to see.”

Lu Qi suddenly remembered something and began fumbling around. She panicked when she realized the note seemed to be missing. Helplessly staring at the woman on the sofa, she saw the woman leisurely take another sip of tea, set the cup down, and suddenly produce a note between her fingertips.

“I don’t like that child Ye Zheng.”

Lu Qi’s eyes widened in surprise at the idea that someone could dislike Ye Zheng.

“But I like you. You resemble my daughter. For your sake, I can fulfill her request.”

Zhou Yun took another sip of tea and then stood up. A misty smile lingered in her eyes, yet her words carried a cold killing intent.

“Anyway, no matter where we go, as long as it’s on this land, death is coming.”

“But… what happened to your leg?”

Lu Qi noticed Zhou Yun’s legs after she stood up. Her lower body seemed half buried in the fog, appearing and disappearing with each step like a drifting cloud. The discovery shocked her so much that she overlooked Zhou Yun’s cold words.

“Ah, it’s because I can barely keep my ability together anymore. I’m going to die soon.”

Zhou Yun gave her lower body a faint glance.

Lu Qi felt she’d said something wrong and quickly changed the painful subject. Racking her brain, she said, “Um, right. Why don’t you like Ye Zheng? She looks like the perfect good child adults adore.”

At the words “good child,” Zhou Yun smiled. Her gaze grew even more affectionate as she looked at Lu Qi.

“I don’t like perfect good children. I like the one who isn’t too smart, who’s a little reckless, who envies peers that are more outstanding… my child.”

Under Lu Qi’s stunned gaze, Zhou Yun stroked her hair and murmured, “I should’ve told her that long ago. I shouldn’t have compared her to Ye Zheng. Of course, the mistakes I’ve made go far beyond that.”

Lu Qi didn’t know exactly what had happened. Looking at Zhou Yun’s sorrowful face, bitterness welled up in her heart as well. She touched Zhou Yun’s cold cheek.

“No matter what mistakes you made, there’s always a chance to correct them. Oh right. Ye Zheng is really good at healing. Maybe she can help you!”

Zhou Yun curved her lips, but there was no warmth in the smile. She pressed down on Lu Qi’s hand.

“It isn’t only my mistake. It’s the mistake of many people. Layers of lies piled up together. All those teetering errors crushed my Yuan Yuan to death.”

“And now I’m going to completely correct the monumental wrong this nation committed. Then you’ll all stop being deceived.”

A bad premonition rose in Lu Qi’s heart. Looking at Zhou Yun’s face, which was gentler than even her own mother’s, she felt an inexplicable chill and an indescribable sadness rise inside her.

✧✧✧✧✧

Western District, Lanxia County, York Town.

Pei Xi watched the terrified people huddled together. There was no joy or relief at finding the missing population. Instead, the weight in his heart only grew heavier.

Zhou Yun had gathered five hundred thousand people in this small town. Over the past two weeks, chaos and lack of resources had already killed many people even without Zhou Yun taking direct action. They tried to escape the town, yet no matter which direction they chose, they remained forever trapped in the mist-covered town.

Pei Xi looked back. The road they had entered through had vanished without a trace.

He asked several people, but none of them knew where Zhou Yun actually was. If they couldn’t find her main body, they were nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered in the thick fog.

Pei Xi let out another deep sigh. All he could do was hope that Ryan on Sykes’s side might discover something. He’d heard Sykes had originally brought hundreds of knights with him, but the moment they entered, the thick fog separated them all and they lost track of each other.

Now only Roy and Kyle remained with him. Lu Qi was still in the base, and Ye Zheng… she was no longer his teammate. Because of her extreme actions, Kieran had locked her in the confinement cell.

A powerless sense of loss swept over him again. He paced irritably along the fog-covered street. Suddenly he nearly collided with someone.

Thud thud thud. Something seemed to have been knocked out of the person’s black bag and rolled across the ground.

Pei Xi immediately crouched down apologetically to pick it up. Through the hazy fog, he felt something round and furry.

“Sorry, let me get it.”

A familiar voice sounded gently above him. Pei Xi looked up in disbelief. The other person had already crouched down and gently taken the object from his hand.

“Pei Xi, give it to me, okay?”

In a daze, Pei Xi lowered his gaze. What he held wasn’t something round.

It was a human head.